February 19, 2008

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY WOMAN SENTENCED TO NEARLY SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON FOR IDENTITY THEFT

SACRAMENTO—United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today that ANGELIQUE MICHELLE HALL, 31, of San Joaquin County, was sentenced by United States District Judge Edward J. Garcia to 81 months in prison for aggravated identity theft, bank fraud, and possession of stolen mail. The sentence was ordered to run consecutively to a two year prison sentence HALL is currently serving after being convicted in San Joaquin County in a separate case involving forgery, fictitious checks, and false identification; that sentence will be completed next month.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the San Francisco Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service with the assistance of the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Department and the Modesto, Oakdale, and Livermore Police Departments.

According to Assistant United States Attorneys Camil A. Skipper and Benjamin B. Wagner, who prosecuted the case, HALL admitted that she negotiated dozens of counterfeit checks and made a number of fraudulent credit card purchases victimizing various individuals and businesses throughout Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Amador, and Calaveras Counties in the Eastern District of California and in other parts of northern California. HALL admitted that she used stolen personal information and a computer to create counterfeit checks, mixing and matching true names, banks, and bank account numbers. She also admitted using stolen California driver’s licenses as identification when she presented the checks as payment. Finally, HALL admitted possessing hundreds of pieces of stolen mail, including bank statements, W-2 forms, tax returns, Social Security cards, and checks. During an interview with law enforcement, HALL stated that methamphetamine use played a part in her offenses. She has a long history of convictions in California courts for similar conduct, including grand theft, use of another’s personal information, and four convictions for forgery.

One of the offenses on which HALL was sentenced, aggravated identity theft, requires a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in addition to any other prison time imposed when a defendant uses another person’s identification information to commit a federal crime. HALL was also ordered to pay restitution to victims of her offense, in an amount that will be determined at a subsequent hearing. Following release from prison, HALL will be on supervised release for a period of five years.

“Identity theft has become epidemic in California,” said United States Attorney Scott. “Some may regard this felony as easy money. But know that it can ruin a victim’s credit and that widespread fraud increases fees and prices for everyone. With our state and local counterparts, we are working hard to ensure quick detection and strict punishment in these cases.” The United States Department of Justice participates in a multi-agency federal identity theft task force, and the United States Attorney’s Office has appointed an identity theft coordinator to work with state and local law enforcement agencies.

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For more information on federal criminal defense law, contact the Law Offices of Joseph Shemaria of Los Angeles, California.